Last year alone, well over sixteen million people were the victims of identity fraud.

Just let that sink in.

16 million people had their details stolen before being hacked and potentially robbed of thousands of pounds. With identity theft becoming more prevalent, the question on everybody’s lips is, how do I keep myself and my credit cards safe online?

One way that you can better protect yourself is by using an identity protection service.

Two of the most prominent companies in the business are LifeLock and Identity Guard, with many people arguing over which company is the best for keeping your credit cards safe.

But which one should you choose?

Both identity theft protection services offer excellent protection, app functionality, and multiple plan levels. They also both have their technology that is unique to their customers and aids in preventing identity theft and wallet protection, and they provide top-level help if you do get caught out by hackers stealing your data.

Not only that, but both companies also have a complete set of digital tools at their disposal to keep you secure online and protect your identity, and stop you from being a victim of identity theft.

However, for all the similarities that these two identity theft insurance companies have, there are quite a few distinct differences that need to be considered when choosing the right company for your needs.

Which identity theft protection company is the best at keeping identity thieves out and stopping fraudulent activity? Let’s find out.

Which Is Better?

If only it were that easy!

If you look at both of these providers on the surface, it would be easy to say that they are extremely similar. However, do a little bit more digging, and they have some noticeable differences in their approach to antivirus protection and their business philosophy.

Because of this, ultimately, you will have to decide which of these companies you think is best suited for your specific needs. It will come down to what you value as the most important, cannot do without, aspects of your cover, and which features you would happily go without.

These features will vary from customer to customer and are one of the main reasons both of these companies have succeeded in the field of antivirus protection!

However, we didn’t want to leave you without any information to make this decision on! In this article, we will compare LifeLock and Identity Guard like for like, to see how each aspect of the business matches up against each other.

That includes looking in more detail at the features that each of these companies provides you, the performance that both of these companies websites and apps achieve, the different pricing and plans they both offer you to choose from, and also some of the general comments made by customers in their reviews of the product.

LifeLock vs. Identity Guard Comparison

Focusing initially on the basic plans of each company and not the family plans, Lifelock get single-bureau credit reports via Equifax, whereas Identity Guard gets their single-bureau credit reports via TransUnion. Both companies get their reports at upper membership tiers.

Features

Many forms of LifeLock come with Norton 360 as standard.

That is because LifeLock falls into Norton’s Antivirus offering and is a name that many people have heard of regarding antivirus protection.

What this means for you as the consumer is that you are provided with Norton 360 anti-malware, which is a significant component that helps prevent identity theft. One of the most common ways that hackers try to obtain your information is through malware attacks, and this software prevents these attacks.

In comparison, Identity Guard provides you with virus scanning software on most packages, but it is only available on PCs. Norton 360 is available on mobile devices and Macs.

Identity Guard and LifeLock both provide identity theft protection that you would expect from services of this kind. That includes protecting your private information and social security number on the web, databases, and the dark web.

They also both offer ID verification, which will alert you if any possible suspicious activity occurs using your details, such as setting up a new line of credit or a new credit card.

Both companies will assist you in replacing any canceled credit cards if your identity is stolen, and they will also alert you of any changes to your credit reports.

So what features set these two companies apart?

The main difference comes when we focus on the services they provide if you are unfortunate enough to receive identity fraud.

Identity Guard will assign you your very own case manager, which means you will not be alone sorting this issue.

On top of that, they also provide up to$1,000,000 in identity theft insurance, which includes stolen fund reimbursement. This reimbursement is available for all customers on any plan.

LifeLock does provide a reimbursement option if your funds are stolen, but the difference here is that the amount of reimbursement is dependent on which plan you have. Customers on LifeLock Standard only get $25,000, and you need to be on LifeLock Ultimate Plus to get a reimbursement rate that matches Identity Guard.

You might think that this makes Identity Guard the clear winner, but not necessarily. While LifeLock offers less in reimbursement funds, they offer other perks, such as coverage for lawyers and personal expense compensation.

Performance

A great benefit of both of these companies is that they offer customers mobile apps. The LifeLock app is straightforward to set up and only needs a credit card and valid ID. The interface is easy to navigate and familiar, even if you are a new user.

As a LifeLock customer, you have the option of logging in on the website or via the app. The LifeLock app also allows users to get fraud notifications while they are out and about, which means they can instantly take action.

If you are using the app, you also can contact a customer service advisor via the app. They couldn’t make it quicker and easier to get them!

Similarly, Identity Guard is easy to set up and use. While both apps offer similar benefits, the LifeLock mobile app is more intuitive and better designed for easy navigation.

Support

LifeLock provides its customers with 24/7 customer support, while IdentityGuard goes one step further and provides you with a personal case manager. If you have experienced any identity theft issues, you will feel confident that they will help you as best they can when you are dealing with your very own case manager.

While having your case manager can seem like a great benefit at face value, as it saves users plenty of time trying to explain their issue each time they call the customer support for an update, having a personal manager does not make up for the fact that Identity Guard’s customer support is not 24/7.

So if you get an alert on your app that some suspicious activity is happening outside of the customer support working hours, you can log the issue, but nothing will be picked up until they re-open.

That can mean that much money and other assets can be stolen from you before anything is done, and although you will be met with great support the next day, this can be highly stressful and inconvenient.

Identity Guard does have a monitoring service that works 24/7, so you will be notified of any strange activity regardless of the time of day. However, the customer service team works specific hours between Monday and Saturday and is not open on Sundays.

As you can imagine, cybercriminals do not tend to work the standard hours of 9-5, Monday to Friday! This means a security breach could happen at any time, which is why we feel that LifeLock provides you with a better support service.

Pricing and Plans

Identity Guard consists of three plan options for you to choose from. The budget option is named the Value Plan, the intermediation option, called the Total Plan, and the most expensive option, the Ultra Plan.

The Value Plan provides you with data breach notifications and standard monitoring and costs $8.99 a month for a rolling deal, or $7.50 if you pay annually.

The Total Plan does everything that the value plan does, as well as offering credit monitoring. This plan is $19.99 per month, or $16.67 a month if paid annually.

Finally, there is the Ultra Plan. On top of everything else, this plan also monitors your credit cards and bank accounts to check for any criminal activity. If paid monthly, the Ultra Plan costs $29.99 a month, which drops to $25 a month if you pay annually.

As stated, each plan provides you with £1 million in identity theft insurance, which is a bargain and rare to find on other budget plans.

LifeLock, on the other hand, has four plans for you to pick from. Firstly, the Standard Plan provides LifeLock monitoring services and no Norton 360. This plan costs $9.99 if paid monthly and $8.29 a month if paid annually.

If you choose LifeLock select, this option includes Norton 360 for as many as five devices and is the same price as a Standard Plan for your first year. Each of these plans provides you with $25,000 in identity theft insurance.

That total increases to $100,000 with the LifeLock Advantage Plan, and also offers you the chance to have up to ten devices covered by Norton 360, at the cost of $17.99 per month for the first year, or $14.99 a month for the first year if you pay annually.

The final option you have is LifeLock Ultimate Plus. This plan has all of the above and adds three-bureau credit monitoring and $1 million in identity theft insurance. Not only that, but you can have as many devices as you want to be covered by Norton 360.

The Ultimate Plan costs $25.99 a month if paid monthly or $20.99 a month if paid annually.

One thing that is worth noting is that each LifeLock plan is more expensive after the first year. If you are in the market for coverage that will last a long time, you also need to be aware of the price of these plans in the second year.

Which Is The Most Popular?

LifeLock Reviews

When looking at 2018 customer feedback for LifeLock, we saw that 65% of customers would recommend LifeLock to other people. Another key point that arose from reviews was how helpful the customer support team was when they were contacted.

This feedback is essential because when something as serious as identity theft occurs, you want to feel as though you are talking to someone who understands and is going to help you.

Another noticeable aspect of customer reviews was that the app alerts provided by LifeLock were extremely useful and also sent at accurate times.

There is nothing worse than receiving an alert, starting to panic, only to realize that it was a false alarm. Or even worse, you are not being alerted when suspicious activity is taking place!

Identity Guard Reviews

There are fewer specific pieces of feedback for Identity Guard during this period, but customers say that they found the website easy to use.

Some feedback suggested the app was handy once users had learned how to use it and that although the customer service was not 24/7 when you did speak to them, they were extremely useful.

Final Thoughts

Both LifeLock and Identity Guard have plenty to offer their customers to ensure that their financial accounts and identity are well protected. When it comes to antivirus protection, these two companies are up there with the very best options available to you.

That means that you could choose either of these great products and rest easy in the knowledge that you are being looked after by one of the best in the business.

One of the main reasons these two companies are so great is that they have so many features in common, such as the range of different packages for you to choose from, the website and app integration, alerts for suspicious activity, and price points that almost anyone can afford.

However, it is their differences that make all the difference. Ultimately it comes down to customer preference and what you decide are non-negotiables that you want to see for your money.

For example, if you feel that for the money you are paying each month, you want a customer support service on hand 24/7, in case the worst should happen at an inopportune moment, then you are likely going to go for LifeLock.

However, if 24/7 customer service is not as important to you, and instead you would rather be spending your money on a company that will provide you with a personal care manager if you are ever in need, you may want to opt for Identity Guard or Aura instead.

Now that you have a lot more information on both of these companies, you may feel as though you are ready to pick one and get started.

Well, not quite! There are a couple of other things you need to do first.

For starters, these two providers are not the only two available to you. Several other providers may suit your needs.

Now that you have an idea of what can be expected from the very best antivirus companies, you can use that information to research other companies and see if you can find an offer that suits your requirements even further.

We recommend that you make a list of everything you would like to see from your chosen provider, such as the amount you want to pay, how much insurance you would like, what the customer service looks like, and so on.

Once you have your list, make a note of all of the companies that tick off the whole of that list, or get somewhere close and do some more digging.

Check independent websites for reviews from real customers, like FindReviews. 

Remember, it is the companies job to tell you how great they are, but you will get a truthful and honest answer to that question from previous customers. If you end up back at Identity Guard or LifeLock, then you can pick the right provider for you, knowing that you have done your research and you have chosen the best possible company for you.